Rummenigge wants reform of UEFA yellow card rules

26 April 2012 07:17

Bayern Munich boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has called on UEFA to overhaul regulations which have effectively ruled key players from Bayern and Chelsea out of the Champions League final on May 19.

Bayern booked their place with a dramatic 3-1 penalty shoot-out win over Real Madrid, after it finished 3-3 on aggregate, on Wednesday while Chelsea beat Barcelona 3-2 over the two legs.

Bayern's win came at a cost, however. Defenders David Alaba and Holger Badstuber, plus midfielder Luiz Gustavo, are all suspended for the final at Munich's Allianz Arena stadium after each picked up their third yellow card of the competition.

Likewise, Chelsea will be without Ramires, Branislav Ivanovic and Raul Meireles for the final after they each picked up extra cautions.

Blues captain John Terry is also suspended for receiving a red card in Barcelona.

"I'm deeply sad and sympathise greatly with three of our players, David Alaba, Luiz Gustavo and Holger Badstuber, who received third yellow cards and are unfortunately suspended for the final," said the Bayern chairman.

"The regulations need to be discussed, and probably should be changed.

"At the World Cup, yellow cards are cancelled after the group stage, but not in the Champions League.

"This is something we ought to change. But we can't change it now.

"The coach will still find a good solution, I'm convinced of that."

Rummenigge says the suspensions are a bitter pill for the players to swallow and called on European football's governing body to adopt FIFA's policy of waiving yellow cards accumulated in the final stages of the World Cup.

FIFA changed their rules before South Africa 2010 so that from the quarter-finals onwards yellow cards are not accumulated, meaning no player misses the final through a booking in the last four.

Only UEFA's Club Competitions Committee could bring in the rule change but that will not happen before this year's final in Munich.